in Europe (dark grey)  –  [Legend]Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Azerbaijan face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.

[2] Nonetheless, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity are not banned in the country and same-sex marriage is not recognized.

Despite Vladimir Lenin having decriminalized homosexuality in Soviet Russia (inexplicitly; the Tsarist legal system was abolished, thus decriminalising sodomy), sexual intercourse between men (incorrectly termed pederasty in the laws, rather than the technically accurate term sodomy) became a criminal offence in 1923 in the Azerbaijan SSR,[8] punishable by up to five years in prison for consenting adults, or up to eight years if it involved force or threat.

[16] Azerbaijan possesses no legislation enabling transgender people to legally change their gender on official documents.

This caused disagreement in society due to homophobic views, but it did gain support from Azerbaijani human rights activists.

Ali Hasanov, head of the public and political issues department in the Azerbaijani President's administration, said that gay parade claims were untrue, and warned Iran not to meddle in Azerbaijan's internal affairs.

For Pride Month in 2019, several Azerbaijani celebrities shared social media posts supporting LGBTQIA+ rights, including singer Röya, stylist Anar Aghakishiyev and 2011 Eurovision winner Eldar Gasimov.

[2] Nonetheless, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is not banned in the country and same-sex marriage is not recognized.

[5][18][28] "Coming out" as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person is therefore rare, and individual LGBT people are afraid of the consequences.

[20] Those who are financially independent and living in Baku are able to lead a safe life as an LGBTQIA+ person, as long as they "practice" their homosexuality in their private sphere.

[5] In 2019, in A v. Azerbaijan, the European Court of Human Rights called out the state for its 2017 raids in which over 80 LGBT people were detained, many tortured and abused by police.

On 24 October 2019, the principal was sentenced by the Sabail District Court of Baku to 2 years and 2.5 months of restriction of liberty, which means movement surveillance,[32] only requiring her to be home at 9:00 PM.

2011 Eurovision winner Nigar Jamal posted a video on Instagram addressed to President Ilham Aliyev asking government officials to take action.

[35] In May 2019, Azerbaijan Airlines fired three employees for releasing personal information of a transgender passenger on social media, including a picture of her passport.

Vahid Aliyev, a co-founder of the Minority Azerbaijan news webpage, has criticised the media for their unprofessional manners and their impact on shaping public opinion.

[42] Samad Ismayilov, an LGBTQIA+ activist and the founder of Minority Magazine, made a documentary movie about a trans man from Azerbaijan named Sebastian.

[43] Deniz Miray, who is trans rights activist and film critic, shot her "Bədənimə Günəş" in 2022 by talking about the challenges of LGBTQI+ individuals in Azerbaijan.

[44] In 2009, Ali Akbar wrote a scandalous book titled Artush and Zaur, which focused on homosexual love between an Armenian and Azerbaijani.

[46] In January 2014, Isa Shahmarli, the openly gay founder of AZAD LGBT, died of suicide by hanging himself with a rainbow flag.